Disclaimer: Once upon a time... there was a girl named Boats and Birds... and she didn't own Bleach. The end.

A/N: Well, here I am after an extremely long hiatus, for which I am extremely sorry! I can explain! I have a really good excuse! I had Whooping Cough. Man, it is nasty! I coughed so hard I went momentarily blind, I coughed so hard I threw up, I coughed so hard I turned myself inside out (well, practically)! The drug- I mean pain medication I was on made my hands so shaky I couldn't type. So, I'm really sorry, but here I am at last!

8:

Fragments

Ichigo has come so far, lost so much, fought so many. In this barren, dessert world, he and his friends have risked their lives countless amounts of times to reach this place. The Arrancar that live here are terrifying, yes, and impossibly strong. But none of them have what he does; someone to fight for, die for, live for. He has to live, so that he can save her. Orihime. He won't lie down and die like a coward, not while one of his friends is still in captivity. So he fights, even when it seems like he can't win.

He stares up at the castle in front of him, white as snow in the moonlight, and the irony of the color is not lost on him. He is afraid, so afraid, that if he enters this place he will not come back out alive. Yet… he turns his eyes up to the nighttime sky. It has been so long since he has seen the sun, and he is weak, and tired, but when he lays eyes on that heat, that light again, none of this will matter. He will find the sun, even if it costs him his life.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the strength to overcome it.

Ulquiorra ponders, as he watches the girl sit silent by her barred window, exactly what she has done to him. She is truly like nothing, no one, he has ever encountered before, and though at first she unnerved him… now he cannot say what he feels. His life used to be simple, straightforward. There was nothing even remotely confusing about it. He served Aizen, the one who had created him faithfully, loyally; the Black King had no better subordinate than he. He was hollow, emotionless, an empty husk on the outside, and nothing within. He preferred it that way. No feelings, no emotions, no heart. When he was called upon, he would transform into a horrifying monster and fly away to destroy, to kill, to burn. But this girl… try as he might, he cannot understand her.

He has poured over every book in Aizen's extensive library, and somewhere he vaguely remembers reading about something called an Angel. They are beings of light and purity, he recalls, and they can do no harm to anyone, no matter how evil. They are beautiful, and gentle, and they bring hope to those who have none. This girl must be an Angel, he concludes, and though the sentiment means nothing to him, he feels strange inside. Because if this girl is an Angel (and surely, there is no other explanation for her) than that undoubtedly means that he is a Demon.

What is a heart?

Renji is used to death. He has seen it so many times his heart has become hardened to it. He has watched friend after friend fall in front of him, experienced that heart wrenching sorrow every time. I'm not strong enough. I'm never strong enough. It was true.

Renji can remember Rukia's execution, remember it like it was hours ago. He can see it so clearly; that time when he had almost stood back and watched his best friend die. Maybe, maybe that's why he is here in the first place. He can see it, in Ichigo's eyes, the same look that he knows must have been in his own when Rukia's life was in danger, and he understands better than anyone what the carrot top is feeling. So, here he is, risking his life on a suicide mission, because even though he doesn't know her very well, damn it if Orihime isn't one of the nicest people he's ever met. She is important to Ichigo. She is important to Rukia. Hell, she's important to him.

So here he is. Risking his own damn life. Protecting Rukia (even if she doesn't know it), hoping to save Orihime.

And if he never gets out of here alive?

He hopes he'll get to say goodbye to Rukia. One last time.

You'll never know the truth.

End~

Viola! I sincerely hope that was good enough to make up for the wait. Sorry again everybody! Revie- aw, you guys know the drill. This is me, putting duct tape on my mouth. Mmmph.